naruball said:
Though not really. The psp got a huge boost from monster hunter and you can't simply take 5m out of 80m and say that it moved only 5m consles at best. Halo made xb360 a desirable console to the masses. Even to people who never actually purchased the game. It created momentum and word of mouth for the console. Again, same with Pokemon. Tons of threads of excited users for the new Pokemon creates interest for the console. If you speak to anyone who has studied marketing (at uni or follows it carefully), they'll probably tell you that the impact of a single game on hardware cannot be determined based solely on its sales. When #driveclub was announced, a few people gave a damn. When it was delayed, many cancelled their pre-order, not because the cared about the game, but because they wanted to justify their purchase and they couldn't with such a weak launch line-up. Plus you don't know how many people bought a xb360 and illegally downloaded the game or bought a used copy. The way I see it, it works like a chain. 5 people buy an xb360 for Halo and 10 of their friends feeling like buying an 360 too, so that they can all have the same console. They might end up buying COD instead, but it has the indirect influence of Halo that made them buy a 360. I think South Park nailed it on kids' influence one another. |
I don't say it doesn't have an effect but you can't say the whole success relies on only one game/franchise. Not with such a difference in sales.
The illegal argument and buying bought applies to every system seller, e.g. Gran Turismo.